How to share screen on Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is a tool which we can use in different ways: for chatting, making calls, running webinars, making recordings, etc. In Hangouts you can share screen to help someone make a proper setting up in the operating system, or initiate a demo presentation of a particular software product’s abilities and features. You can show your desktop, a discrete window or the whole visible space to focus on the area you need. Using this feature is incredibly easy and transparent, you don’t need to make any customization or configuration — it is available right away. In this article, we will describe how to apply the sharing screen module to the Google Hangouts web-service within Gmail or from the Chrome extension.

How to share screen from the Hangouts web-service?

If you have got used to the Hangouts web-service, here’s what you should do in order to share the visible area after attending the https://hangouts.google.com/ web-page:

• Go to the mentioned web-link and log in.
• Select the contact you want to share the window or the whole visible space with from the contact list by tapping the user name in the corresponding web-form section.

  

• When the contact is selected, initiate a video call by tapping the “Camera” button on the header of the chat.

  

• Now you are calling the contact. You can start sharing the window right now, and your collocutor will see the broadcast right after he takes the call, or you can wait until he takes the call and only then start sharing. In order to share a visible zone, click the “More” button in the top-right corner of the call window and pick the “Share screen” item from the pop-up menu displayed.

  

• After the sharing session is started, choose whether you want to share the entire screen of your computer or a single application window only. If you select the first option, the sharing will immediately start. In case you pick the latter option, you would need to choose one of the opened programs currently operating on your desktop machine and press the “Share” button below.

  

• Hereby, after the person you are calling takes the call, he will see the specified screen area, regardless of the device he uses: mobile phone, tablet, laptop or stationary computer.

Note: if you want to cease sharing, click “Stop” in the top section of the active form.

How to share screen from Hangouts on Gmail Inbox?

If you want to use the app integrated into the Gmail account, the method of sharing the screen is identical to the one above:

• Firstly, you should go to Gmail and then proceed with authentication.
• After that, when the app is loaded, click the needed username and initiate a video chat by clicking the “Camera” icon in the chatting form.

  

• Then complete the procedure described in the paragraph about the Hangouts web-service application. Just repeat the same steps, and you will achieve the expected result.

  

How to share screen from the Hangouts Chrome extension?

If you formerly installed the Chrome extension for the messaging service, you can use it for sharing visible space as well. The method of the plugin application is the same as for the Hangouts web-service and the app within Gmail. Just run the add-on from the toolbar above, select the person from the contact list, click the Camera button and choose the “Share screen” option from the “More” pop-up menu.

Note: the sharing feature is available only on the desktop devices and operating systems: Windows, macOS, Linux. You can not apply the feature to Android and iOS gadgets. However, if you work with Android tablet/phone, iPhone or iPad and receive an incoming Hangouts call from a desktop OS user, you can see the screen shared by the calling person. Nevertheless, the mobile device screen can not be shared from the mobile device’s owner’s side.

The screen sharing feature is especially useful for PC consultants and tech specialists, who often assist their clients with the setting up of programs or something else. Screen sharing feature is available on Hangouts right away, so you don’t need to personalize or set up the existing environment in order to use the component on your computer.